Photographic composing machines



G. J. H. SAUSELE PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOS ING MACHI NES Jan. 10, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed June 5, 1964 m 5% %w m ATTORNE Y Jan. 10, 1967 G. J. SAUSELE PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 5, 1964 qiiinnw INVENTOR. 4 Jaw/4' ATTORNEYS an- 1 G. J. SAUSELE 3,296,948

PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOS ING MACHINES Original Filed June I5, 1964 (5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 4 Claims. (Cl. 95-45) This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 372,211, filed June 3, 1964 now abandoned.

This invention relates to photo-typesetters and more particularly to such devices in which a rotary master character disc is employed and in which means are provided for stopping the disc momentarily at the point at which the selected character is positioned for projection of the character image upon the receiving medium.

A photo-typeseter of this general nature is disclosed in my United States Patent No. 3,082,670, granted March 23, 1953, and certain master characterdiscs of constructions eminently satisfactory for regular text and relatively small headline composition are disclosed in my Patents 3,011,424 and 3,089,402.

The degree of magnification of the characters as imprinted on the film or other receiving medium in the regular text machines is usually about two to one and the clarity and sharpness of the images are relatively unimpaired. However, considerably greater enlargement of the projected images is necessary for setting display or larger headline composition, and extraordinary care is required to preserve the sharpness of the outlines of the character images and also to maintain the proper positioning of the individual matrix characters with respect to the lens system and the film.

The general object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a novel and improved device of the class described which is of the same generic nature as the one disclosed in my prior Patent No. 3,082,670, but which is adapted to afford a high degree of accuracy in positioning the master character disc for considerably enlarged display typography but with sharp uniform images of utmost clarity. The desideratum is a display type size of from say to 84 points.

For the attainment of image sharpness and clarity, the best photographic lenses are employed, and a light source of as high an intensity as is compatible with other factors, together with the provision of as large a matrix character size on the master disc as is practical. And for accurate positioning of the selected character matrix with respect to the optical system, the invention provides a novel indexing system as disclosed herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

While the present improvement is applicable to the use of a master disc containing separate sectorial fonts of characters, a particular embodiment of the invention is disclosed herein where the entire alphabet or font of characters is spread over the whole 360 area of the disc.

One of the important novel features of the invention is the arrangement of the stop pins on the disc and the peculiar construction of the cooperating abutment blades for the positioning of the disc for the selection of a charaeter.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from the following specification when. read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of pertinent portions of a typesetter machine embodying 3,296,948 Patented Jan. 10, 1967 ice the principles of the invention, certain parts being broken :away for better illustration of underlying mechanisms;

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the rear face of a master character disc for use in the machine;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on line 55 of FIGURE 1 with certain portions of the frame and operating mechanism broken away; and

FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 are views in side elevation of three different forms of stop blades employed in the primary indexing feature for the disc.

Theoretically it might be possible to attain the desired enlargement of the projected image from the ordinary text size character by purely optical means, as by alterations and adjustments in the lens system, but there is a practical limit to the clarity and sharpness of the images and accuracy of position for good alignment, where such high magnification alone is pursued. However, it has been found that an enlargement of the image to approximately 3 /2 times the size of the matrix character is satisfactory.

This presents a need for compromise between the maintenance of smaller size matrix characters on the disc, and the urge toward enlargement exclusively by optical magnifi-cation. On the one hand, it is proposed to provide somewhat larger matrix characters on the disc (although, of course, small characters at least down to 10 point must also be provided on the disc) and to use the whole area of the disc for one font, and to effect the selection of an individual character from the sectors on the disc by modified primary stop means.

The description of the basic structure of the machine logically begins with a reference to FIGURES 1 and 5 of the drawings and during the development of this disclosure, my prior Patent No. 3,082,670 should be referred to with particular emphasis on FIGURES 5, 16, 21, and 23 to 29, inclusive, and to the accompanying descriptive matter in columns 11 and 12 and 15 to 18 of the specification.

Wherever feasible, the same reference characters will be employed in this disclosure as were used in the applicants prior patent. Thus, the photo-typesetter machine as an entity is designated B and comprises a base frame 50 having certain side frame portions 5012 which serve to support an inner frame structure 50c. A superstructure 52 surmounts the machine and includes a box frame 114 within which much of the novel mechanism pertaining to the present invention is housed. The film carriage, which by means of suitable escapement mechanism is moved step-by-step past the point of projection of the image of a character, is not shown, but it is presumed to be arranged to ride upon the track bar 56 supported as suggested in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

The photo-typesetter machine B may be actuated and controlled by a coded tape fed thereto or by a keyboard 10B.

Other features which will be readily recognized as counterparts of similar elements in my prior patent, are the master character plate D which is in the form of a circular disc which is for the most part made opaque but is provided with transparent representations of characters arranged in predetermined order around the entire circumference of the disc. A rotary shutter disc is indicated at S and is provided with a notch 235 which registers with the path of the beam of the transmitted image at appropriate times for impressing the film or other sensitized medium on the carriage.

Now giving principal attention to FIGURE 5 of the drawings and following the corresponding FIGURE 23 of my prior patent, it will be seen that the box frame 114 is provided with bearings 126 and 127 in its rearward and forward walls for the rotative support of the disc shaft assembly 125. A driving gear 151 having a hub secured to the shaft assembly 125 by means of the screw 152 meshes with a gear 207 which also serves to drive the shutter shaft 160 through the gear 164. A power shaft 112 carries a worm 204 which drives the worm gear 205 which is carried by the shaft 206 upon which the gear 207 is fixed.

A sleeve 132 is pinned to the control rod 130 of the shaft assembly 125 and provides a seat for the coil spring 137 which surrounds a tubular outer portion 128 of the shaft assembly,125 and whose opposite end is seated against the sleeve or collar 135 pinned only to the outer cylindrical portion 128 of the shaft. Thus, it will be seen that the solid core element 130 of the shaft assembly 125 is urged toward the left with respect to the surrounding hollow tubular portion 128 but may be moved in a righthand direction against the compression of the spring 137. The collar 141serves as a guide sleeve for the shaft assembly and bears against the outer wall of the box frame 114.

Near the outer end of the shaft assembly 125 a disc supporting member 140 is accurately secured upon the outer shaft portion 128 with a forced fit. The member 140 is disposed adjacent the bearing 127, and is shouldered as at 142 to receive the hub 116 of the master character disc D.

A clamping plate element 145 having a knob portion 146 centrally thereof is applied around the shaft assembly 125 so that it bears against the outer rim of the disc hub 116 and clamps the disc hub against the circular outward portion of the member 140 with resilient frictional driving pressure. A clearance space 148 is left between the clamping flanged members 140 and 145 and a flat transverse extending key member 150 is carried by the end of the central shaft member 130, and when this key is in position to seat in the notches 147 on the outer surface of the knob portion 146 of the clamping plate 145 it bears upon the knob to press the plate 145 against the hub 116 of the disc D. In order to release the plate, as for changing the discs, it is only necessary to withdraw the rod portion 130 of the disc shaft a slight distance against the urging of the spring 137 and rotate the plate 145 through an angle of 90 whereupon the key 150 may pass through the slots 149 in the hub of the plate. When the key 150 is positioned so as to bear against the knob 146 of the plate 145, the pressure of the spring 147 determines the clamping pressure on the disc, and this pressure can be varied by the adjustment of the spring seat sleeve 135 along the outer tubular shaft element 128.

It will thus be understood that although the drive from the power source to the shaft assembly 125 through the gear 151 is constant, the disc D may be stopped at appropriate points on account of the slippage afforded by the resilient clamping device under the influence of the spring 137.

The disc D and its appurtenances will now be described in connection with FIGURES 2 to 5 of the drawings. The hub 116 of the disc is grooved to receive the central opening of the disc proper which may be made of suitable transparent plastic material. A series of ears 16 extend radially from the hub 116 and are provided with openings to receive the screws 17 for securing the disc plate 15 to the hub. An annular stiffening plate 18 is preferably provided on one side of the disc for reinforc ing purposes.

The plastic material of the main portion 15 of the disc is coated with an opaque substance which is relieved to provide transparent characters 20 arranged in one or more rows near the periphery of the disc and when these transparent portions are aligned with the beam of the optical system, and the shutter is open, the image of the character is projected upon the film or other sensitive medium for reception of the composition.

Now, unlike the disc of my previous patent, certain stop pins are provided which are disposed at varying distances from the center of the disc. It will be recalled that in the earlier patent the fonts of characters were repeated within each sector of the disc and the disc was brought to a stop by the projection of the selected character stop blades with the master character of the nearest font sector in position for projection. In the present development, however, the entire font of characters is distributed around the full 360 circumference of the disc, although they may be divided into sectional groupings of 120 to correspond to the extent of the nest of stop blades indicated in the central portion of FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

Now, in order to properly allocate the particular characters from the full 360 extent of the disc to the group of stop blades which occupy only 120 of angular extent, on the frame of the machine, the stop pins on the disc are each allocated to one of the 120 sectors and these pins disposed at different distances from the center of the disc, and are adapted to be abutted and stopped by stop blades having projections formed at three different positions along their lengths. The particular construction of these blades will be described in connection with FIG- URES 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings.

The stop pins are shown clearly in FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5, the one nearest the center of the disc being designated 325C, the one at an intermediate distance from the center designated 325B, and the pin which is' farthest from the center of the disc being designated 325A. The pins are each provided with flat shank portions 327 and two screws 328 serve to secure the pin assemblies to the disc. These screws pass through openings in the disc proper and their ends are threaded into the small backing or clamping plates 322.

For making electrical contacts within the controlling circuitry of the system, a thin annular band or conductor ring 320 is applied closely to the rear surface of the disc and this ring has radially projecting arms extending therefrom. The shortest arm or extension is indicated at 321C, the arm of intermediate length at 321B, and the longest arm at 321A. The arm 321A is associated with the stop pin 325A and is clamped beneath the corresponding plate 322. Similarly, the intermediate arm 321B is clamped beneath the plate 322 of the stop pin 325B. The shortest arm 321C is clamped beneath the plate 322 of the stop pin 325C. Needless to state, the plates 322 as Well as the screws 328 are of conducting material to bring the pins 325 into the circuitry with the band or conductor ring 320. A spring-pressed contact is suggested at 330 in FIGURE 4 and this contact is for the same purpuose as the one similarly designated in'my Patent No. 3,082,670. 1

Finally, in one embodiment of the invention, the periphery of the disc D is provided with a peculiarly shaped notch adjacent each of the points where the characters 20 of the annular series of characters occur. These notches are designated 25 and have radially extending side walls 26, bottom walls 27 and inclined opposite side walls 28, all for purposes which are fully-set forth in my copending application Serial No. 372,211, of which this application is a division. I Now referring particularly to FIGURES 5 to 8 of the drawings and bearing in mind the disclosure in FIGURES 23 and 29 and columns 16m 18 of my prior patent, it will be understood how the seeker mechanism and the rudiments of a type key bar installation are connected series of radially extending slots 376 formed in the face plate 375 secured to the arcuate portion 372 of the forward portion of the framing structure 500. Another arcuate member 370 is secured to the lower forward face of the box frame 114. The arcuate bracket 370 has associated with it a downwardly depending strap element 380 which fits into a groove in the lower edge of the member 370 beneath the portion of the member 370 which is notched at 382 to correspond in number and registry with the slots 376 and the lever arms 355.

Confined for radial sliding movement within the slots 382 are the stop blade elements indicated generally by 390A, 3903 and 390C. The one shown in FIGURE 5 of the drawings is the same as the blade illustrated in FIGURE 6 and is designated 390A. Each of these blade elements comprises an outer vertical blade portion 391 and an inner vertical blade 392. The outer blade portion 391 has a short projection thereon which is adapted to be brought into the path of rotation of one or the other of the stop pins 325 of the disc. The rearwardly positioned vertical portion 392 has a rounded lower end 394 which is aligned with the corresponding long arm 355 of the actuating T-lever 350 as clearly shown in FIGURE 5. The upper end of the rear portion 392 is provided with a bevelled spear-head surface 397 and is notched to form an undercut ledge or hook 398. The forward and rear portions of the blade are joined by a bridge portion 399 which works in one of the slots 392 of the arcuate member 370.

All of the members 390 are normally urged in a downward direction by means of coil spring such as shown at 40 which may be seated in a socket 401 and has its opposite end bearing downwardly on its blade element.

The means employed for latching the blade elements in their raised or operative positions until another cycle of character projection operation is called for is clearly described in column 17 of my Patent No. 3,082,670 and will be but briefly repeated herein. The slide plate or trolley 410 is guided for horizontal movement within guides supported by the framework and the trolley is urged forwardly by means of the spring 420' which connects a post 421 on the slide 410, and a bracket 422 secured to an appropriate portion of the fixed framing of the machine.

Bolted to the forward end of the slide 410 is the arcuate segmental latch plate 415 having a lower inclined surface 416 above which is a shoulder 417, and a further inclined surface 418 which is of somewhat greater forward extent than the lower surface 416.

It will be understood from the disclosure in the earlier patent how the upward project-ion of the blades 390 causes the surface 397 thereon to move against the lower inclined surface 416 of the latch plate 415 and then still farther up the inclined plane surface 418 to move the latch plate 415 to its ultimate inward extent to release any previous suspended blades. The head of the blade then drops down so that the hook 397 rests upon the ledge 417 of the latch plate 415 and remains in this operative position until released by the operation for the next character.

The blades 390A are provided with stop projections 393A at the lower portion of the outer limb 391; the blade 390B has its stop portion 393B at an intermediate portion along the leg 391; and the blade 390C has its stop portion 393C near the upper end of the limb 391. It will be readily understood how the different positions of the alternating blades fits in with the three radial positions of the stop pins 325A, 3258 and 325C of the disc. For example, in the operation of the blade 390A as shown in FIGURE 5 the stop portion 395A will move upwardly, against the urging of the spring 400 until it moves into the path of the stop pin 325A on the disc, whereupon the disc will be stopped with the selected master character in proper projecting position corresponding to the blade 390A with which it is associated. It is, of course, understood that the arrangement of the master characters on the disc and in the three sectors corresponds with the positions of the pins 325A, 325B and 325C and follows in accordance with the character represented by the group of blades 390A, 390B, and 390C.

Thus far there have been described the details of the primary indexing device which displays inventive novelty over my earlier embodiment in respect to the selectivity of the blades and stop pins. This device is adapted to function in a similar manner as the arrangement in my Patent 3,082,670 but may, as disclosed herein, be modified for certain purposes whereby the proximity of the blades and the pins is chosen so as to permit a slight overrunning of the disc with respect to a given character, such overrunning being perhaps in the neighborhood of from about ten thousandths to fifteen thousandths of an inch, as fully described in my application Serial No. 372,211.

It is understood that various changes and modifica tions may be made in the embodiment illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. Character selecting mechanism for photographic composing machines or the like, comprising a supporting frame, a rotatable master character disc bearing matrix characters around its circumference, said characters arranged upon the disc in a plurality of sectorial groups, friction driving means for continually urging said disc in a forward direction of rotation, stop means for selectively halting the rotation of the disc against the urging of the driving means at substantially the point for the presentation of a selected character to a light beam for image transmission, said stop means comprising a plurality of stop pins projecting from said disc, one pin for each of said sectorial groups of characters, a series of stop abutments movably carried by said frame and selectively projectable into the paths of said stop pins, the stop pins being disposed on said disc at different radial distances from the center thereof, and said stop abutments being projectable to blocking positions located at different radial distances from said center to be abutted only by corresponding pins on the disc, the characters occurring on a given sector of the disc being represented by the stop abutments cooperating with the pin appropriate to the sector in which said characters occur, said projectable stop abutments comprising tabs formed on sl-idable blades at different distances along the edges of said blades, said blades all being projectable substantially equal distances.

2. A photographic composing machine comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, a light beam source, a master character plate, and a carriage for supporting a medium for the reception of character images transmitted from said plate by means of such light beam; said master character plate being in the form of a rotatable disc bearing matrix characters around its circumference, friction driving means for continually urging said disc in a forward direction of rotation, the matrix characters constituting one complete font of characters distributed around the full circle of the disc but arranged in a plurality of sectorial groups, stop means for selectively halting the rotation of the disc against the urging of the driving means at substantially the point for the presentation of a selected character to the light beam for image transmission, said stop means comprising a plurality of stop pins projecting from said disc, one pin for each of the groups of characters into which the font is divided, a sectorial series of stop abutments movably carried by said frame and selectively projectable into the paths of said stop pins, the stop pins being disposed on said disc at different radial distances from the center thereof and said stop abutments being projectable to blocking positions located at different radial distances from the center of the disc to be abutted only by corresponding pins on the disc, the characters of the font occurring on a given sector of the disc being represented by the stop abutments cooperating with the pin appropriate to the sector in which such characters occur, means for causing said stop pins and abutments to permit said disc to slight overrun the precise point for presentation of the selected character image; secondary means for indexing the disc for precision positioning thereof; a shutter device, means for driving said shutter device in timed relationship with respect to the process of presenting the matrix character and transmitting its image to said medium, and timing means geared to said driving means for actuating said secondary indexing means to finally position said disc and maintain it in precise position during the open period of said shutter device, said secondary indexing means including a movable element, a fixed accurately positioned arresting abutment, stop abutment surfaces on the disc provided by notches formed in its peripheral edge; the movable element of said secondary indexing means com-prising a swingable pawl having a nose adapted to be inserted into the notch which is in closest juxta-position thereto, press against a rearward wall of said notch, and move the disc until a portion of the pawl strikes said arresting abutment.

3. The machine as set forth in claim 2, in which spring means are provided to urge said pawl into engagement with the notch, and said timing means comprises a cam and a follower member contacting said pawl and serving to withdraw it from said notch after the character image has been transmitted.

4. A photographic composing machine comprising, in combination, a supporting frame, a light beam source, a master character plate, and a carriage for supporting a medium for the reception of character images transmitted from said plate by means of such light beam; said master character plate being in the form of a rotatable disc bearing matrix characters around its circumstance, friction driving means for continually urging said disc in a forward'direction of rotation, the matrix characters constituting one complete font of characters distributed around the full circle of the disc but arranged in a plurality of sectorial groups, stop means for selectively halting the rotation of the disc against the urging of the driving means at substantially the point for the presentation of a selected character to the light beam for image transmission, said stop means comprising a plurality of stop pins projecting from said disc, one pin for each of the groups of characters into which the font is divided, a sectorial series of stop abutments movably carried by said frame and selectively projectable into the paths of said stop pins, the stop pins being disposed on said disc at different radial distances from the center thereof and said stop abutments being projectable to blocking positions located at different radial distances from the center of the disc to be abutted only by corresponding pins on the disc, the characters of the font occurring on a given sector of the disc being represented by the stop abutments cooperating with the pin appropriate to the sector in which such characters occur, means for causing said stop pins and abutments to permit said disc to slightly overrun the precise point for presentation of the selected character image; secondary means for indexing the disc for precision positioning thereof; a shutter device, means for driving said shutter device in timed relationship wit-h respect to the process of presenting the matrix character and transmitting its image to said medium, and timing means geared to said driving means for actuating said secondary indexing means to finally position said disc and maintain it in precise position during the open period of said shutter device, said secondary indexing means comprising the provision of a series of notches around the peripheral edge of said disc, each notch being appropriate to certain of the characters on the disc, a fixed supporting block disposed near the periphery of said disc and having a slot therein, a floating pawl having a pivot at one end thereof adapted to move in said slot, an accurately fixed arresting abutment surface on said block, a nose on the opposite end of said pawl having a surface thereon adapted to contact one wall of a notch in the disc and also said arresting abutment surface when in operative engaged position, an inclined surface on said nose and a fixed abutment on said block against which said inclined surface bears, spring means urging said pawl in a generally tangential direction with respect to said disc and toward said arresting abutment, and spring means urging the nose of said pawl toward engagement with said notch, and means operable upon said pawl in opposition to both of said spring means to move the pawl pivot along the slot and the inclined surface of said nose along its abutment in order to withdraw the nose in a combined radial and tangential direction from the slot.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,207,265 7/ 1940 Ogden 4.5 2,503,647 4/ 1950 Young 95-4.5 2,742,831 4/ 6 Wirtz 954.5 3,082,670 3/1963 Sausele 954.5

JOHN M. HORAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. CHARACTER SELECTING MECHANISM FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPOSING MACHINES OR THE LIKE, COMPRISING A SUPPORTING FRAME, A ROTATABLE MASTER CHARACTER DISC BEARING MATRIX CHARACTERS AROUND ITS CIRCUMFERENCE, SAID CHARACTERS ARRANGED UPON THE DISC IN A PLURALITY OF SECTORIAL GROUPS, FRICTION DRIVING MEANS FOR CONTINUALLY URGING SAID DISC IN A FORWARD DIRECTION OF ROTATION, STOP MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY HALTING THE ROTATION OF THE DISC AGAINST THE URGING OF THE DRIVING MEANS AT SUBSTANTIALLY THE POINT FOR THE PRESENTATION OF A SELECTED CHARACTER TO A LIGHT BEAN FOR IMAGE TRANSMISSION, SAID STOP MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF STOP PINS PROJECTING FROM SAID DISC, ONE PIN FOR EACH OF SAID SECTORIAL GROUPS OF CHARACTERS, A SERIES OF STOP ABUTMENTS MOVABLY CARRIED BY SAID FRAME AND SELECTIVELY PROJECTABLE INTO THE PATHS OF SAID STOP PINS, THE STOP PINS BEING DISPOSED ON SAID DISC AT DIFFERENT RADIAL 